The Federation Council, the Russian parliament's upper house, on Oct. 4 unanimously rubber-stamped the illegal annexation following its approval by the Constitutional Court and the State Duma, the parliament's lower house. To become Russian law, the annexation bill must be signed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. On Sept. 30, Putin signed treaties to illegally annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts after staging sham referendums in the areas. The United Nations, the U.S., and other Western countries have opposed the annexation of the Ukrainian territories by Russia.
Most Popular
Ukraine destroys nearly 6,000 Russian FPV drones in major strike on military targets, General Staff says
Ukraine to open 10 weapons export centers in Europe in 2026 in major wartime policy shift
Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russia's Volgograd oil refinery, Rubicon barracks in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Pope Leo sends 80 generators, thousands of medical supplies to Ukraine
Ukrainian ombudsman gets over 6,000 complaints against enlistment officers in 2025 — 333 times more than at all-out war's start
News Feed Show More
Thursday, February 12
(Updated: )
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the ballistic missiles were targeting the city's infrastructure facilities.
Thursday, February 12
Short track speed skater Oleh Handei said his helmet bore a line from Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko: "Where there is heroism, there is no final defeat." It was banned from the Olympics on the grounds of being a "political slogan."
(Updated: )
According to the president, the negotiations would be hosted by the U.S. and will take place on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. The talks, however, depend on Russia's agreement to take part, something that Ukraine and the U.S. have not yet received.
"I am absolutely confident that if ... there is no date, then Russia will do everything to block the process," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 11.
(Updated: )Elections
European countries stepped in to fill the gap, increasing military aid to Ukraine by 67% and non-military support by 59% in 2025, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
(Updated: )
A Russian strike on Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast, killed four people, including three toddlers, and injured two others, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported overnight Feb. 11.
The messages come a week after Ukraine's defense ministry agreed with Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, to introduce mandatory registration for the internet terminals in Ukraine, a move meant to prevent their use by Russian forces.
(Updated: )
Kyiv Independent reporters on the ground reported hearing two explosions around 2:50 p.m. local time.
"We have been discussing the training of Ukrainian soldiers, also on the soil of Ukraine," Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, said in Brussels on Feb. 11 before a meeting of EU defense ministers.
As global attention has shifted to Ukraine’s energy crisis, the fighting on the eastern front has not slowed. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell speaks with Volodymyr Polevyi, head of public affairs for the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces, about the battle for Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast.
